Collapsible theater



2' Sheets.- 3.

May 11 1926.

My-n 192s.

E. N. BRANDT/ coLLAPsIBLE THEATER Filed on. 11. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2-BY ma ATTORNEY Patented May 11, 1926;

5 UNITED STATES vP ERDMANN N. BRANnT,.or TARRYTOWN, NEwYoax.

` ooLLarsIBLa THEATER.

Application filed October 11, 1924. SeralvNo. 743,069'.

i This invention relates to collapsible thea-l ters and particularly toytheaters, although' certain features thereof are of more generalapplication. The object ofjthe invention is a novel theater lof a"construction enabling it to be readily setup' and' collapsed intocompact form with peculiar: facility, To these ends I'have deviseda`theatrical unit of collapsibleone-piece form which' may be readilyknocked down' into a compact form storable in' confined and narrowspaces and which, with equal facility, may be set up to form` theessentials of an improvised temporary theater. Further objects'of theinvention reside in a structure of this character which Vis of markedsimplicity and is capable of being economically manufac tured. Y- i yFora better understanding of the'above indicated novel features of' myinvention and others which will hereinafter appear, reference may be hadto the accompanying drawings wherein- Fig. 1l is a perspective view ofone embodiment of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view illustrating the collapsible vfeatures thereof.r

Fig. 3 is a'perspective viewin detail of certain' of the parts of theapparatus.V

Fig. L is a perspective view of still other parts on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is a detailed'view of a mechanism.

facilitating the collapsing and setting up of the parts, and i Fig. 6 isa part sectional and part plan view of a portion of the apparatus. v

Referring to the drawings where similar reference numerals designatesimilarparts throughout,^l'have illustrated my invention as embodied ina ltoy or readily improvisable theater comprising as' one'of itselements the central proscenium'arch 1. The latter comprises the .tworigh-tv andleft side portions or halves 2 ,and 3. and the narrow centralportions l and 5. The l'right and left parts 2 "and 3 are 'hinged to vthe upper central part 5 by means of the hinges 6 and 7 and to the lowercentral base part 4v by means of the hinges 8 and 9.'. The Ytwo lhalves2 and 3, therefore, of the arch,

may swing in parallel relation to each other and at right nangles to theVcentral parts'a and 5. On the outer edges of the prosceni- Aum archpanel 1 are swung the side panels' or wings 10 and 11 these being hingedthereto by means vof pairs of hinges 1.0l and. 11

respectively. The Y panels "101 and '11 are' preferably of the sameheight as the pro scenium arch 1 andare capable of Yassuming lrightanglepositions with reference thereto Ainthe set up position ofthe` theater,

as indicated'in Fig. v1, Aand in this position suitable lattaching*braces 12 may Abe pro-v vided for'rigidly anchoring `the panels in thisposition. These braces V12 may consist of linlisfof wire of sufficientrigidity to hold y the side panels in the set up position and includethe 'down turned ends 12 entering suitable recesses inthe upper edges'ofthe panel members'2, y3, 10 and 11 for rigidly holding the parts Vindistended relation.

The width of the panels 10 and 11 is prefer-- ably substantially thewidth of the' halves 2 and 3 of the arch, so that rtheir outer edgesreach approximately or fall `short of the edges of the central partsZland 5 in the col?V lapsed position. I have indicated a curtain for theproscenium .arch containing the right and left hand halves .13 and 14,.these curtains being carried by a flexible strand of suitable material15, such for example as Va flexible metallic wire. This wire 15 is.attached at either end to and adjacent the'upf per edges of the panelsl0 and 11 and at i points approximating their hinged edges. The wire orflexible strand carrying, the curtain should be of such length asto bereasonably taut when the panels 10 and 11 are lfolded baclwardly, asindicated in Fig. 1 vand .anchored at right angle positions to the arch.The arch 1 also has hinged to its opposite side edges the' front panels16 and 17. This is effected throughthe pairs Vof hinges 16 and 17,permitting the front panels 16 `and 17 to take positions, as indi'-cated in Fig. 1, in continuation ofthe central arch structure oranyposition forward thereof, including the position wherein they are flatup against the front side of the arch halves 2 and 3.4 Inthev preferredembodiment there is an auxiliary pair of side pan els 18 an-d 19supported on the rear sides. of the front panels 16 and 17 respectively.

',Theseauxiliary panels are supported bythe pairsoflhinges 18 and 19respectively, Aand are capable` of assuming various positions withreference tothe carrying'members 16 and 17, In the position Yindicatedini F ig.

jl they are disposedat right angles respectively to the panels 16 and 17andy have suitable legs 20, on their bottom edges for forming suitablesupports for the panelswhen open. 'In they particular embodiment illust-rated, the front panels 16 and 17 comprise rectangular frames 21 and22 with suitable coverings 21 andl22 ysuitably secured tothe front sideof the rectangular frames 21 and 22 to close the rectangular fra-me.These coverings 21 and 22 vmay be of any suitable material, as forexample silk fabric. Preferablythe auxiliary side panels 18 and 19 aresmaller than the panels 16 and 17 and are justlarge enough to fit snuglyor easily into Vthe interior of the rectangular frames 21 and 22 (Fig.l6) so that when the panels 18y and 19 are swung up against the rear ofthe carrying panels 16 and 17 they fold inA to the rectangular openingsof the frames 21 and 22 and comeA substantially flush with the rearsides thereof. The panels 18 and 19y themselves are preferablyconstructed similiarly to the panels 16 and 17 namely with rectangularVframes closed by central coverings 23 and 24; ofsuitable material. Inlike manner the sidepanels 10 and 11 preferably consist of rectangularyframes of wood or other suitable material covered by silk or othersuitable fabric 25 andY 26. If -desired some suitable means may beprovided for bracing the laterally flexible and foldable arch 1 in therigid -distended position shown in Fig. l. This may be effected throughthe medium of a suitable elongated bracing arm 27 (Fig. 5) slidablycarried on the 'up`V per edge of the arch and passing through thealigned eyes 28 on the parts 2, 3 and 5. This arm 27 engages a stop 29in its open position and lmay be provided with an O- set end 27 toprevent dislodgement and loss. This prevents the movement of the parts 2and 3 about their respective hinges 6, 8 and 7, 9. vIf desired a bracingmeans 3a similar to the bracing mechanism 27, 28 may be provided for thelower part of the arch across the central part 1, which adds to therigidity when set up The two curtains 13 and 14; may be operated in any'suitable manner, as for example bymeans of the continuous flexibleoperating strand 30, the latter passing through openings in the panel 10andextending parallel to the wire 15 to the opposite end' thereof, whereit is looped through two holes 31 in the left side panel 11, one of thehalves of the flexible operating string 30 being attached to the curtain13 and the other one to the curtain 14. Suitable hand holds in the formof Vrings 32 are fixed to the free ends of the string.

1 illustrates the theater set up for use, the panels 10, 16, 18, and 11,17, 19 rforming dressing-rooms respectively on the right and left forthe use of the performers. vIf desired, suitable doors 33 may beprovided through the panels to permit entrance `and exit of theperformers, the doors being formed in any suitable manner as for exampleby dividingthe fabric covering of the panels into two parts for aportion of their length from thebottom. The preferred use is indicatedin Fig. 1 and the theater may be `set up on one side of va room orchamber to be utilized for this purpose. For example, it may be assumedthat the proscenium arch 1 is disposed parallel to one wall of suchchamber with the panels 10 and 11 having their rear vertical edgesabutting thereagainst. If desired, however, the panels 16 and 17 may beturned forwardly '900 so as to be at right angles to the arch instead ofin continuation thereof. It is observed that the whole structure forms asingle unit organized together in the manner indicated so that it may becollapsed 4into the compact fiat form indicated in Fig. f2, wherein thearch halves 2 vand 3, the front panels 16 and 17, andthe side panels 10and 11 are all disposed in parallel 'relation substantially flatk ingvfunction of the unit and permit the folding into the pancake formindicated with-v out any of the parts fouling or being fouled by Vtheothers. By means of `this unitary construction and arrangement all ofthe parts are retained 'in assembleable relation whether knocked down`or set up, andthe loss or misplacement of parts thereby obviated.Moreover, when 'constructed and used asa toy theater for children, itmaybe of dimensions, when set up, of suiiicient proportions to take up.a'substantial portion .of the usual room and still on account of itscom pactness as indicatedl nFig. 2 when collapsed, it may be stored awaywith the greatest facility in the usual closetV space provided in homes.The panel frames are preferably constructed of a light and cheap wood sothat the whole apparatus may be manufactured cheaply and economically.

It is understood that while I have de scribed my invention as beingparticularly p applicable to toy theaters, yet it is equally applicableto theaters for ,grown-ups, :as for example when a temporary theatrical.struc-- ture is to be improvised foramateur and `hastily arrangedperformances, Y

Having thus described'my invention,what

I claim and `desire to protect by Letters Patent is: 1. An apparatus ofthecharacter set forth including a vertically divided laterally llOfoldable proscenium arch `anel with side panels hinged to the oppositeedges thereof for folding flat up against the foldable por tions of thearch when the latter are folded into parallel relation.

2. An apparatus of the character set forth including a proscenium archin two parts laterall foldable into parallel relation, side panelshinged to the free edges of the two alves of said arch for dispositioneither at right angles thereto, or in folded relation flatlythereagainst, and a flexible curtain carrier mounted thereon andpermitting the collapsing and folding of the foldable proscenium archand side panels flat against each other into a compact form.

3. An apparatus of the character set forth in claim 2 having a pair offront panels also hinged to the outer edges of the arch halves andadapted to assume any position from the continuation thereof to aposition flat up thereagainst.

4. An apparatus of the character described including a verticallydivided proscenium arch panel comprising two parts hinged together forfolding positions parallel to each other, a pair of anels hinged to eachpart thereof, one to t e back side to be folded flat against the rearsides of the proscenium` arch parts, the other one to the front sidethereof to be folded against the front sides thereof, and a pair ofauxiliary panels hinged to the outer' edges of the front panels.

5. A collapsible theater including a vertically divided proscenium archpanel which is formed of a pair of laterally foldable wings with anintermediate part of narrow strip form adapted to form a continuation ofthe arch in distended form and to assume a position ati-ight angles tothe arch halves when they are folded backwardly thereby permitting thefolding of the proscenium arch wings into parallel spaced relation witheach other and the disposition of other theater parts therebetween.

6. A collapsible theater including a proscenium arch panel verticallydivided into two laterally foldable parts separated from each otherbothwhen in distended form and.

in the folded parallel form, and a pair of side panels swung on theouter edges of the arch panel parts and capable of assuming either rightangle positions with reference thereto or positions flat against therear sides of the arch panel halves and in close juxtaposition whenthepanel halves are folded laterally in parallel relation whereby thehinged parts may be collapsed and folded into parallel relation flat upagainst each other.

7 A collapsible theater of they character set forth in claim 6 having apair of front panels swung for pivotal movement about the front sideedges of the arch halves and tinuation of the side panels to a positionflat up against thefront sides thereof.

8. A `collapsible theater Aunit'including a proscenium arch v paneldivided vertically into two wings which are laterally foldable intoparallel relation, a foldable side panel hinged to the outer verticaledge of each of the wings and spacing devices disposed between the twohinged wings to form a continuation thereof when distended and servingto space them from each other when laterally folded a distance at leastequal to double the thickness of a side panel, thereby permitting theaccormnodation of the foldable side panels between the proscenium wingswhen the latter are laterally folded into parallel relation.

9. A collapsible theater unit including aproscenium arch panel dividedvertically into tw-o portions for folding laterally thereof intopositions substantially parallel with each other with a spacing devicebetween said arch halves, a pair of side panels swung on the outer edgesof the arch halves and said panels being of a width not greater thanvthe width of th-e arch halves whereby the side panels may be foldedinwardly of the laterally folded arch halves without fouling the spacingdevice.

curtain support disposed parallel with the arch when distended.

12. A collapsible theater unit of the character set forth inv claim 9having a pair of front panels hinged to the front outer edges of thearch halves for collapsing movements opposite to the movements of theside panels. 13. A collapsible theater of the charactei set forth inclaim 9 having bracing means for rigidly bracing. the distendedproscenium arch and the outwardly folded side panels. 14. A collapsibletheater unit comprising a' vertically divided proscenium arch panel withthe halves thereof vpivotally attached for-lateral folding movementsabout vertical axes, a pair of panels pivotally attached to an outeredge of one of thefdivided por` tions of the prosceniurn arch, one ofsaid panels being formed of a Yrectangular frame with a covering for oneside thereof and an and adapted ywhen folded into collapsed formVauxiliary panel hinged to the edge thereof by the rectangular frame.

In testimony whereof, I have signed name to this specification.

- Ananiuainv N. BRANDT.

